Louisiana has become the latest state to ban transgender girls from participating in sports in public schools after the state’s Democratic governor declined to veto it, arguing that such an attempt would be futile against the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.
Gov. John Bel Edwards, who vetoed a nearly identical bill last year, called the legislation “unfortunate” and “distressing” but said it would have become law whether or not he signed it.
“I’ve allowed that bill to become law without my signature, not because I thought the bill was good,” Edwards said at a press conference Monday. “I hope we can all get to a point soon where we realize that these young people are doing the very best that they can to survive. I just think that we can be better than that bill.”
